The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of
the United Nations reports that 80 per cent of world fish stocks are
either fully exploited or overexploited.

Meanwhile, governments around
the world continue to provide billions, and by some accounts tens of
billions, of dollars in subsidies to the fisheries sector. The Doha
Ministerial Conference launched negotiations to clarify and improve WTO
disciplines on fisheries subsidies, and at the Hong Kong Ministerial
Conference in 2005 there was broad agreement on strengthening those
disciplines, including through a prohibition of certain forms of
fisheries subsidies that contribute to overcapacity and overfishing. The
challenge now facing the Negotiating Group on Rules is to develop
stronger rules while respecting the important policy concerns of WTO
members, particularly developing and least-developed countries.

An informal grouping of members calling themselves the “Friends of Fish”
(including Argentina, Australia, Chile, Colombia, New Zealand, Norway,
Iceland, Pakistan, Peru and the United States) say that subsidies to the
fisheries sector — estimated at $14–$20.5 billion annually, or 20–25 per
cent of revenues — have led to over-capacity and overfishing. Japan, the
Rep. of Korea and Chinese Taipei, on the other hand, have expressed
scepticism over the link between subsidies and over-fishing. Many
developing countries are asking for flexibility in granting subsidies to
their fisheries sectors.

First draft text from the Chairman

The WTO Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong,
China in December 2005 directed the Negotiating Group “to intensify and
accelerate the negotiating process,” and also mandated the Chairman to
prepare consolidated texts of the Anti-Dumping and Subsidies Agreements
“that shall be the basis for the final stage of the negotiations.”

On 30 November 2007, the Chairman of the Group circulated to members his
first draft consolidated texts on anti-dumping and subsidies and
countervailing measures, including fisheries subsidies. For anti-dumping
and horizontal subsidies disciplines, the texts proposed specific
changes to the existing Agreements on Anti-dumping and on Subsidies and
Countervailing Measures. For fisheries subsidies, the texts proposed an
entirely new set of sector-specific disciplines, contained in a proposed
new Annex VIII to the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing
Measures.

The proposed new disciplines on fisheries subsidies as reflected in the
Chairman’s first draft text would include a prohibited category
covering, inter alia, subsidies for construction of new fishing vessels
and subsidies for operating costs of fishing. LDCs would be exempted
from the new disciplines, and other developing Members would have
substantial flexibilities, especially for subsidies to subsistence-type
fishing in their territorial waters. All exceptions to the proposed
prohibition would be conditioned on compliance with certain provisions
related to fisheries management.

A series of informal meetings from December 2007 to May 2008 revealed
sharply-conflicting views in the Group on many issues in the first draft
Chairman’s texts, including in respect of the proposed disciplines on
fisheries subsidies.

Roadmap

In December 2008, in view of the lack of
convergence in respect of the most controversial aspects of his first
draft texts, the Chairman issued revised texts on anti-dumping and
horizontal subsidies disciplines and countervailing measures, reflecting
“a bottom-up approach” (i.e., for the most controversial issues,
specific proposed legal drafting was replaced by brackets summarizing
the range of views expressed). For fisheries subsidies, these texts were
accompanied by a “roadmap” of detailed questions for further discussion
concerning the main issues in the fisheries subsidies negotiations.

In 2009 in respect of fisheries subsidies, the Negotiating Group
systematically addressed all of the questions in the roadmap. By the end
of the year, the Group had completed this review and had begun to
consider new substantive proposals submitted by delegations.